June 8, 2010

Hey Look!
Over one week of consistent posting! Amazing what being unemployed can do!

Just kidding, I start work next Monday.
However, lets look at what it can do. I'm spending more time reading, playing video games, educating myself in various interests, hanging out with John. Seems pretty good.

There seems to be a secret, hidden Barnes and Nobel here in Little Rock. The iphone seems to think it's somewhere other than it's real location. This made driving there quite difficult. However, it was imperative that we find it.
I finished Richard Dawkins: How a Scientist Changed the Way We Think.
It's a collection of essays (really more like thank you letters) about the book The Selfish Gene and how it inspired an assortment of different people in various fields.
I haven't read The Selfish Gene...
So I booked (ha ha ) it over to Barnes and Nobel and picked myself up a copy. Whee!
Moar Skience!

After this we went to Best Buy to look at new tv stands. I can tell you why on another day.

Dilemma.
I like posting random and funny things that I find online. However, I feel these blog post can get a bit lengthy. Also, I normally write my blog early in the morning and I only have time for about one post a day.
In the past I've been putting the funny links I find up to my facebook feed and leave the blog for one or two goodies as well as my general "life-story" stuff.
Do you people have an opinion as to what I post?
In addition, I love hearing comments back on what I write. Lets me know people read this and I'm not just wasting my time. Let me know what you want more of!


I was almost done until I found this in my googlereader this am.

It's OK to shoot Mexican kids who throw stones.
This is NOT OK.

Read the article and most of the comments. I know there are a lot but these people seem reasonably informed on more of the details of the issue. (As well as a few other sources that covered the same story from different angles.)
I do have to agree though. I don't care exactly what all the details where the point is, he was a kid you were a border agent. You were the adult. He was a teenager. Find a NON-LETHAL way to deal with it.
DON'T KILL CHILDREN.


Augh, makes me so mad.

June 7, 2010

Another run in with comcast today.

Today was the day we were going to get internet. I know what you're thinking, "How have you been posting without internet?" Well, we had wireless of the cable found in the living room, but the office did not have any sort of cable so we had to wait until they could come back and install the proper cable in the proper room.

That was to be today.
So John woke up and called Comcast to see what time they were coming out to install.
They had no idea what we were talking about. They said to contact our Condo Manager and see what they thought. They said there was a third party that did that, but they had no contact information for them. They did tell us they would come anytime between 9 am and 6 pm. Oh, and we had to be home during that time.

Facepalm.

It was a very long day. We played Tetris, watched Arrested Development, read various books. Actually, it wasn't too different from any other day except there was that feeling of being trapped. Knowing that you couldn't go anywhere...

I made cabbage calzones for lunch. Another home run in the kitchen.

They did eventually show up and drilled a hole and shoved a cable through and then the celebrating began. Very loud celebrating of very fast internet speeds. 26.17 down and 3.56 up.
That's all a heard for quite a while.

So, naturally, John finally got to play Left 4 Dead with his buddies last night. This made him very happy.
He also purchased a laptop for school as soon as it gets here I'll be able to play with them. Eevee (my netbook) just doesn't have the power for a zombie apocalypse.


Lets do some fun stuff.
These may be a bit weak but it's been awhile since I've been smart...
IQ and suicide risk
Medscape article. Let me know if it blocks access...
Basically a cohort of over a million Swedish men and once all the variables were controlled it was determined with a 95% confidence interval that lower IQ was associated with suicide attempt. The authors ruminate on poor coping skills, poor communication skills, However, psychosis did not seem to play a factor.

I've always been a bit intrigued by IQ related studies especially after reading... this one book... whose title escapes me now... dang it... (good story!)

Anyway, it's non-fiction and there are a bunch of "retarded" kids who were basically put in jail so they could not "foul-up" society with their lower IQs. Well, they escape and do just fine. Later it's revealed all sorts of problems with the testing and how IQ is not a valid test etc. etc.

I wonder if they've fixed that.
So, having poor communication and poor logic and reasoning will increase your risk for attempted suicide. This is why I say play tetris!

Here's another
Asteroid collision caught on camera!

Didn't we all learn that the asteroid belt was full of rocks constantly smashing into each other and debris flying everywhere? Didn't you hear that at least once as a kid? Don't fly the spaceship into an ASTEROID BELT! We'll be KILLED!

Well, turns out we've never seen one before, until now. This of course is speculation formed on the evidence left in this photo that suggests (by the way the dust and particles are directed) that two objects hit each other.

WooHoo! Moar Science!


This could be the best part of this post though...



In all the moving my sweet lil cat, Spock, found a new friend living here! John says he sees a goatee on Mirror Mirror Spock. I don't. I think WE have the bad one. MirrorCat must be the good incarnation.
He had already been waving to himself for a while I just had to run and get the camera.
I love how he looks behind the mirror too.

Silly Spock.

June 6, 2010

Not everyday has to be super productive.

I did however clean out some old files from our desk.
One of the things I like to do to keep an eye on our finances/plan out our budget is take our bank statements and color highlight the different things we spend money on. Food, House, Gas, Eating Out, Entertainment, and Income are the things I highlight. Then I add up the different categories and see how well or poorly we did. I can also quickly figure out if we're spending more than we're making.

This is just the quick version. When I get more time I also like to break it down more exactly in to an excel spreadsheet.
Miraculously we've come out ahead every month except February this year. I blame the fact that I only got paid once in February and we took a trip to KC.
Last month was a TERRIBLE month for eating out. We were so bad. I'm not going to say how much we spent but. It almost rivaled the previous 4 months total. *sheepish*

Figuring out the budget here, looks like we're gonna be ok. We're not spending too much more here on the mortgage than we did on rent back home. I got nervous because now we don't have John's income. Still, looks good.

Speaking of spending money... do you have any idea how much people want to charge for swimsuits?!?
It's crazy. $50 for half a suit?! No way. Not gonna fall for that crap.
I paid $8. I just hope it doesn't fall to pieces.
I sort of call it the "why bother" swimsuit. After another week at the gym or so it might make an appearance. Might

So why would I purchase such a thing. Meh. I really don't know. What's to stop me? I'm 22 and have always wanted to wear a black bikini. There we're some hilarious designs too. Man, I could have been a James Bond girl, it was ridiculous.


I've decided I might not post EVERY meal I make here. However, some of them are just so darn good.
I was actually inspired by the blog no-meat-athlete. It's nice to be able to find some yummy veggie food that doesn't use hard to find ingredients. Plus, if I can make it, it's not too hard.
These sandwiches were great!

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tsp honey
1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup shredded radish
1/4 cup shredded carrot
1 baguette or 1/2 loaf french bread
Mayonnaise
Sriracha chili sauce (that red kind with the rooster on it!)
1/4 tsp soy sauce
Cucumber slices
Cilantro (I always use parsley)
Tomato slices
Lettuce
Fried Tofu

I used tofu from the day before, but here's how I made it.
Stir in a small bowl 1 Tbs. whole wheat flour and 1 tsp. garlic powder. add 1/4 block cut up tofu cubes. Heat olive oil in small skillet over medium-high heat saute tofu 3-5 minutes sprinkle with 1/2 tsp soy sauce.

To be honest I never measure anything in the kitchen and I always half recipes. So if the measurements are a bit off or you end up with too much or too little food...Sorry.

To make the sammich!

Combine vinegar honey and red pepper flakes in bowl with carrot and raddish, stir together and let sit for 15-30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 and toast bread lightly.
Spread mayonnaise on bread, sprinkle with chili sauce and soy sauce.
Fill bread with tofu, cucumber, and sprinkle with parsley/cilantro.
Drain the carrot-raddish mixture and put on sammich. Add tomato and lettuce.
Good luck closing the sammich!

If anyone used to work at Subway and could give me some hints as to how they cut their bread so it doesn't lose all the sammich goodies, I'd appreciate it.

I watched The Producers last night. The new one with Matthew Broderick. Great movie. It's always been one of my favorites. Mel Brooks is always good for a laugh.

I'm about to finish that Richard Dawkins book I posted about a few days ago. Maybe a book review in the future? Something cerebral? Nah, maybe not...

June 5, 2010

Laundry Day!

We did buy a washer and dryer, but they don't get here until next monday so.... We had to hit the laundromat one more time. In Springfield we mostly did our laundry at our parents house or the laundromat located inside our building. We went to one down the street once in Springfield.
Not a bad experience, but there are definitely social norms that one needs to know before using a laundromat.
I don't know them, I'm just saying they're there.
What do you do when there's ONE wet shirt in a washer? Do you assume the person missed it when they collected their other clothes? Do you leave it? Remove it? When you remove it where do you put it? Everything is covered in lint dust from the dryers. When you're folding laundry how much space on the table is too much?
We played scrabble and watched AeonFlux while our clothes tumbled and mucked about.
All clean!

After this we really didn't want to do much. Again. So, more time spent at the pool reading. I think I'm starting to burn a bit. I like being outside.

We returned to Walmart, one of the bookcases we purchased had a rather large crack in the side. I think I'm starting to phase out of Walmart. The Walmart here is much different from Springfield. I don't really feel that safe and would NEVER go there alone. Much, different. So sorry Walmart, but we're moving on without you. You're creepy here.

More delicious meals today.
Lunch was a spinach and bell pepper pita quesadilla that we ate up before I could snap a picture.
No link but it was so good I'm going to post the recipe
Hummus
1/2 cup clianto (or parsley because I never have cilantro)
2 cloves garlic
1 can cooked, rinsed and drained chickpeas
2 Tbs. Lime juice
2 Tbs. olive oil
Quesadillas
Pita pockets or pitas that you cut in half and open
4 jarred roasted red bell peppers
1 1/2 cups baby spinach leaves

Preheat oven to 350. Process garlic and cilantro in food processor. Add chickpeas, lime juice, oil and 1/4 cup water. And puree until creamy.
Place pitas on baking sheet. Spread with hummus, stuff with peppers and spinach. Bake 10 minutes until crisp.
STUFF YOUR FACE!

Seriously, so delicious.
I added a red pepper to the remainder of the hummus and blended it to make red pepper hummus. Yum yum yum!

Dinner was a broccolli bowtie pesto.
I don't think I'm a pesto person. Too nutty for me.

Looks good though.


After dinner I fell asleep reading Dawkins.
Moar good times to come!

Augh!
Before I forget. While cooking dinner I was listening to the Skeptics Guide to the Universe. (One of my favorite podcasts) Something that greatly upset me was a segment they did on a study that showed that people are more likely to trust their friends and neighbors on advice than scientists and experts. Also, that people have an inherent distrust of anything by the government.
Augh. This anti-science movement is really driving me nuts. It just reminds me of the time I heard someone say (in reference to the H1N1 vaccine)
"Well, OF COURSE my infectious disease doctor wants me to get vaccinated."
Do you think that could be because he's an expert in that field?
Seriously people, what is the point of going to school and busting it for so long just to have the common layman blow you off since Becky from down the street doesn't think it's necessary.
Does Becky have any idea what she's talking about? No. Don't listen to her.
If something feels off to you about a study research it yourself.

And that's the rant.

June 4, 2010

Whee!
Another wonderful day here.

I woke up early (as is my habit, normally 0630) and began tinkering around with THIS. Isn't is beautiful. It's my drink station! John built this for me. It holds my coffee, cookbooks, and various other things. I love it. It looks really great in the living room. It also saves me a couple of steps when I'm reading on the couch and need a caffeine fix. I'm enjoying a cup from it right now!
Worked out at the gym today! So great. They've got some "basic 8" thing I'm trying but I modified the last few exercises so it's more geared toward my "personal preferences." Anyone who has looked (few I'm sure) knows I don't need to work out my calves. I inherited my Dad's legs. He won a "Best Legs" contest in college. I think he received a years supply of Leggs pantyhose...

ANYWAY.

We joined the public library today. I meant to take pictures but didn't. I will on my return trip though. We were allowed to check out one item per card at a time until our cards come in. So difficult!
This library is great. They had a lot of things I would be interested in. It was very very difficult to decide on my one item until John located this.
I have a bad habit of stalking scientists and reading as much as possible about them in a short period. Right now it's Dawkins, but I don't think I'll ever read everything about him. I don't have that long of a life span! If you don't know (I'm just throwing it out there) He's a brilliant (personal opinion) evolutionary biologist who has written several books and made vast advancements in the realm of science, logic, and reasoning.
That made my choice a little easier.

I made more delicious food today!
Lunch was this grilled veggie wrap. Asparagus and red bell peppers, yum yum!

Dinner was roasted sweet and sour hawaiian pineapples and bellpeppers over rice. Scarfed that!
We also watched a fantastic movie that I would almost recommend except it was very frightening and brutal. It's was Das Experiment. It was based on the Stanford Prison Experiment. Except, while the real experiment was terminated after 4 days, this one continues. Very scary what people are capable of doing. It was excellent, but like I said I don't know if I can really recommend it to too many people. It's a bit dark. Not at all a happy movie, but it's based on truth.

After that we fell asleep watching funny youtube videos.
This one I think wins. (Language, but if you have headphones or are not were you're going to offend someone. So worth the time.)

Sigh, freeze pops.

June 3, 2010

Ah, another full and productive day.

I can't wait until I get these books unpacked then I'll have something else to do and I'll quit being so industrious.

I did another great thing today.
I bought groceries!
Whee!!

It was GREAT! Phew, a lot of work and it took every green bag I own stuffed to the top but I did it. I filled up my fridge with the yummiest!

It took a bit of time. Since we had nothing I had to read my cookbooks to discover what we wanted to eat for the next week or so. After writing all that down we were off to the supermarket.A full refrigerator makes me happy.


After this trip I was able to make my first meal in my new condo.
A Stirfried Tofu with sesame noodles and ginger carrot-broccoli.

Yum yum yum.

John and I then watched Murder on the Orient Express. What a fantastic movie. We tried to recast it using modern actors, but these people were so great, it was difficult. Most actors today seem too young to play these roles. If you've never seen it, it's fantastic!

June 2, 2010

June 2, 2010

Meep! I woke up to a fitness profile this morning at 8am. We drove the 2 minutes down the street to our new gym and Devon (I think) tested our fitness. Turns out I suck. I've got great flexibility and cardio but terrible strength. Not a big shocker. I knew my BMI was high but luckily for me if I lose about 5 lbs I'll be back in the average category.

I really like this new gym it's very clean and organized. It's only been open since January so all the equipment is very smooth.

I relaxed at the pool today. So nice. I love sitting by pools and listening to podcasts. I enjoyed the Nature podcast from May 20th and burned myself just a little bit. Not much. Some cool stuff about discovering what fMRIs actually look at using light activated neurons. Yay!

After this I took a nap. Phew, heat makes me tired.

EXCITEMENT!

I LIT a CANDLE TODAY!
This makes me very happy. It has been a long time since I could light a candle. Apartments don't like candles so it's been more than 2 years. So with great excitement I lit one, just because I could.
Then we left and I forgot about it, so it was burning unsupervised (exception of the sharp eye of lil cat.)


We bought some new towels today, ones that match the bathroom and are not all moldy and smelly from the move. We also organized the back room and living room.
The guy from Comcast came and after several weird incidents got the internet mostly working.
Turns out the cable in the office isn't really connected to anything, it's just there. So he set up the wireless off the cable in the living room. They're going to come Monday to run a wire back to the office. So Eevee (my netbook) and the Wii have internet but John's computer does not :b
We had a very nice dinner at Olive Garden. I should recommend the Seafood Brodetto. Yummy.

The house is almost entirely done. All we have left to unpack are the books. Alas, we got rid of our old bookcases so, they won't be unpacked until we buy new ones.

It's on the list.

Sorry about all these, what I would call boring posts. Nothing cool or science-y to discuss just me rambling about moving and unpacking etc. Cool stuff soon.
I found a bunch of pictures of stuff I did a while ago in Springfield and the like. Maybe some backposts about that stuff too.

More later!

This is walking outside around my condo. It's so pretty. I tell people it's like living in the Nature Center. So many trees. I've got a little Treehouse!!